Speech at Konrad Adenauer Stiftung

President, Professor Dr. Rinsche, Secretary General Wilhelm Staudacher, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Few countries have meant so much for the development of Norwegian society and Norwegian culture as Germany. Tonight I want to share with you some reflections on our evolving relationship against the backdrop of an integrating Europe.

I am honoured to have been invited to speak here in the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. We know you as an active participant and contributor to dialogue across political, geographical and cultural boundaries. I would like to congratulate you on the Stiftung's recent addition - the Political Academy in Berlin. We know that your arrival was celebrated as a major event and contribution to the capital's intellectual life.

I was very young when Konrad Adenauer was chancellor. Nevertheless, we all recognise how much he meant to build a new Germany and a new Europe. We are all indebted to him and his legacy.

Yesterday, I had the privilege to be at Pariser Platz when the Christmas tree was lit. The President of the Bundestag, Mr. Thierse, the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Mr. Diepgen, were there with many Berliners.

Together we celebrated the start of the Advent and the Spirit of Christmas. It was done in deep gratitude now that people from all over the world can freely come to Pariser Platz and gather in hope and anticipation.

The Christmas tree at Pariser Platz comes from Drøbak in Norway. For the tenth time since the fall of the Wall, a tree is a gift to the people of Berlin. It is a gesture of goodwill and friendship. But the Christmas tree, and the carols we sang yesterday at Pariser Platz, are more. They are also tokens of the deeper relationship between Norwegians and Germans. The tradition of Christmas trees came to my country from Germany where it dates back to the 16th century. "Silent Night" and "O Tannenbaum," and other cherished carols we sing at Christmas, are parts of our common heritage.

This morning I met with a group of distinguished historians and scholars, both Norwegian and German. They had come together to present a common history project which has enjoyed the generous support of Rhurgas AG. The book "Deutschland – Norwegen: Die lange Geschichte" is the result of their work. It is an impressive collection of studies about Norway and Germany and our shared history. The title of the book covers the entire span of our bilateral ties. In this perspective, the tragic years between 1940 and 1945 that have received so much attention, become a significant, but in time limited period.

This important work highlights the decisive influence that Germany and the German-speaking people have exercised in Norway and in the whole Nordic region.

As a result, we share a political, economic and cultural community of values. In every walk of life, be it in the field of ideas and philosophy, technology, religion, natural sciences, be it the legal system or the arts - everywhere our common heritage is clearly visible.

To me as an ordained priest of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Norway, it is all but natural to point to Martin Luther and his impact in Scandinavia. Luther's is the only name of any person mentioned in the Norwegian constitution of 1814.

Relations between our two nations go way back. The book presented this morning highlights the Hanseatic trade's strong and positive impact on the economic and cultural affairs of Norway. In medieval times Germany was Norway's most important trading partner – as it is today. From 1200 Germany remained a most important point of contact, trade and foreign reference to my country. It was nothing less than the bridge between us and the continent.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is how we perceive our relationship today, too - Germany as a bridge and our major partner in Europe.

It is wrong, however, to assume that the flow of ideas was one-sided - from continental Europe to the Nordic region. Important goods from the North were traded in continental markets. During the last century Germany and many Germans looked to Norway, and to the Norse sagas and traditions, for symbols to mirror their own emerging sense of identity and unity. Interaction has been and continues to be a dominant feature.

The 19th century was a period of particular blossoming of academic and cultural contacts between Norway and Germany. Our foremost artists stayed here, and several experienced their breakthroughs in the metropolis of Berlin: Henrik Ibsen, Knut Hamsun, and Edvard Munch, to mention but a few. They all spent evenings in "Zum schwarzen Ferkel" Gasthaus close to the Reichstag with artists and writers from all over Europe.

These artists are still very much with us. Ibsen is widely played at German theatres. Hamsun is being translated into new versions. Two large and impressive Munch exhibitions have opened in Germany this year.

History often repeats itself. Today, Nordic writers and artists again come to Berlin and Germany to seek inspiration and creative impulses and to be discovered by a larger audience. Germany still is - by far - the most receptive of the larger European nations in identifying and appreciating Nordic artistic expression.

In 1997 the exhibition "Die Wahlverwandschaft Skandinavien und Deutschland 1800 bis 1914" was shown in Berlin, and the following year in Oslo. A large number of visitors learned about the strong links between the Nordic countries and Germany in this period. The very name "Wahlverwandschaft - a relationship of one's own free choice - is a good description of our common roots and bonds.

Last month a modern symbol of Nordic interaction with Germany was opened across the street from where we sit this evening. The five Nordic embassies join hands through a copper fence. This "Nordic village" and landmark in the midst of Berlin is our contribution to the architectural landscape of the new capital city. It is a meetingplace for politics, trade, culture and grassroots initiatives. We have been touched by the warm welcome we have received in Berlin. We are determined to be physically and politically visible in the new capital, and contribute to a renewed German interest in Northern Europe. Joining hands the five Nordic nations have attempted to capture the spirit of modern Berlin - integration, openness and cooperation.

In a number of areas Norway and the Nordic countries together with Germany face similar challenges and can - like before - benefit from sharing experiences. The German welfare state and the Nordic model have much in common.

We grapple with the same questions. How can we preserve our values in the quickly changing world of dynamic globalism? How can we protect the core of our societies - the family - in the future? How do we meet the issues of an ageing population? What will labour relations be like in the next century? In searching for solutions to these questions, the Nordic countries and Germany will benefit from working together.

In this context I note with interest that the CDU is developing a new family manifesto. A number of issues are raised here which have long concerned us in Norway. How can we provide incentives so that women and men, who so wish, are able to combine working life with family responsibilities? How can we encourage women to have children at a time when we know they also want to participate at work, in politics - in every aspect of life?

My Government has sought new approaches to family policy and the balance between what the state should do, and what people themselves can best take care of. As a result we have introduced a new social benefit which makes it easier for the mother or father to remain at home with the child during the first two years, the first with full pay. The debate on the responsibility of the individual versus the role of government, between private and public, is an area where we can clearly learn from each other.

I have asked myself how we best can promote an exchange of ideas on a party-to-party level. Last year we invited a young CDU member of the Bundestag to a study visit in Norway. Perhaps we should consider a more regular exchange of members of parliament and of party officials. We, on our side, would welcome that.

Ladies and gentlemen, even if our relations are strong, even if by every yardstick we have much in common, even if our relations are void of conflict, we can still do better.

My invitation today to the people of Germany is the following:

Norway and Germany have much to gain, and nothing to lose, by defining new objectives. Building on what we have achieved over the many years of common history, we should - on the threshold to the new century - look ahead and move towards a strategic partnership between Norway and Germany.

To this end, my Government has adopted a policy programme and called it a Strategy for Germany. I have a copy of it here. It is a short, concise document. It draws up a series of specific measures that aim at strengthening Norwegian-German relations.

First and foremost, this is a programme for my country and what we need to do in order to become better partners. We want to increase the general level of knowledge and understanding of German society and the German language in Norway. We want to inspire new generations of Norwegians to acquaint themselves with the German language and your culture, and we want to see increased exchange of students and journalists. A number of measures are now being carried out in order to expand the study of the German language in the Norwegian schools, where German is the number two foreign language.

Another measure will be the creation of a new foundation that will enhance Norwegian-German relations in various fields. The foundation will award a Willy Brandt Prize to persons who have made special contribution to bringing us closer together. My Government will support this foundation. We are pleased to note that private industry will also contribute to such a fund financially. We believe it will be a new and important instrument in deepening our co-operation.

Germany is increasingly becoming Norway's natural political partner within the EU. The move to Berlin indicates both a geographical and political shift in Germany: further to the East - and just as importantly - to the North.

Our two countries have a strong common interest in strengthening democracy and economic development in Russia and Eastern Europe. We both have a responsibility to see to it that no new prosperity gap replaces the former East-West divide. More than any other country, Germany has contributed to this. What you have done to heal Europe deserves deep respect.

German reunification and the new situation in Russia radically improved the possibilities for cooperation in the Baltic Sea. This situation offered new political opportunities for Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and for Germany as a whole. Cross-border regional cooperation has developed its own agenda. The Nordic countries may become to Northern Germany what the Benelux countries have been to Rhineland, and what France and Italy have been in the development of stronger regions within a larger Europe.

The Baltic Sea region is one of the most dynamic in Europe. We witness a quick increase in economic activities and trade, political contacts and cultural exchange. Stronger cooperation among the Baltic states and in Northern Europe may create a new European centre of political and economic gravity. This trend could supplement and add to the development of the European Union. A new North-South balance of Europe is emerging as new member states are gradually integrated.

My friend, Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen of Finland, is the main architect of a forward looking and promising concept: the Northern Dimension of the European Union. We see this as a blueprint, which captures the new opportunities in the North of Europe. Germany would be one of the main beneficiaries.

I have myself given priority to the task of developing closer energy cooperation around the Baltic Sea. Germany, which in the years to come will receive 30% of its natural gas from Norway, will continue to rely on energy sources from Northern and North-East Europe in the foreseeable future. The ministers of energy of the Baltic Sea Council met only a month ago as a follow-up to a process we initiated last year. They are developing policy instruments, which offer EU members, candidate countries, the European Commission, the EFTA states of the EEA – including Norway and Iceland - as well as a major energy exporter to the EU, Russia, the opportunity to discuss energy questions on an equal footing. This is the Northern Dimension put into practice.

Integration and innovation are keys to the future. These factors underpin our efforts, bilateral as well as multilateral, towards the Baltic states and Russia. EU's strategy for Russia and its guidelines for the Northern Dimension are important instruments of integration. Norway wants to be partners with Germany and the rest of the EU in the realisation of the Northern Dimension. We have ourselves taken the initiative to develop a regional co-operation system in the North - the Barents region - where the EU, Russia and other countries actively participate. It has become an often quoted maxim that we cannot allow Russia to be isolated - or to isolate itself from the rest of Europe. We must make that slogan reality. Only then can we achieve genuine stability and security in Europe.

In particular we emphasise the need to focus on the critical environmental challenges on the Kola peninsula in North-west Russia. We have identified important tasks in the areas of radioactive contamination, nuclear safety, energy efficiency and health. This cannot be a Russian or regional responsibility alone. Germany, the European Union, other partners and Norway are involved. We should stay on course and do more.

Over the past weeks the ten-year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall has been celebrated, and provided an occasion for reflection. Berlin is once again where impulses meet from all parts of Europe, East and West. As one statesman said – all free men, wherever they may live - are citizens of Berlin.

United Germany is a new Germany - united by peaceful means and surrounded by close partner countries and allies. We know it takes time and great resources to overcome the legacy of the past. There is more than enough to be done at home. But this process goes hand in hand with the larger European integration project which you have done so much - and do so much - to foster.

Today there is a new generation of politicians at the helm in both our countries. We on our side have defined it as in our best interest to work even more closely with Germany, not only as a government but as people. It is reassuring that continuity in foreign affairs has been the hallmark of the Red-Green coalition, and that we see an unbroken line towards stronger European cooperation. This was confirmed during my discussion with Chancellor Schröder this afternoon, a meeting that I value very highly.

Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl has earned a place in history as a man of vision and action when Europe needed one. He combined a deep commitment with political experience and a strong belief in the community of European nations. I am grateful for the time I spent with him and for the way that he shared his experience with younger politicians.

Germany has been instrumental in securing EU's future Eastern enlargement. We expect that the EU member states at their summit in Helsinki in two weeks will make another step forward in this process. An eastward opening will be a decisive contribution to European development. Norway is prepared to act as a partner in this process and ease the transition phase for new members. Enlargement of the EU has direct bearing on my country as new member states will become party to the European Economic Area agreement also.

Norway seeks its place, role and purpose in the larger picture of European integration. Our point of departure is our geographical location and political situation. We are situated on the Northern shores of Europe, a periphery which has always been far from the centre of Europe. In the 1994 referendum the majority vote favoured a no to Norwegian membership of the European Union. But it did not in any way go against close Norwegian involvement in Europe. My Government is determined to pursue an active policy in our relation to the Union and its member states. I see my visit here to-day in this perspective.

Our close cooperative links to the European Union have helped create a national consensus on Norwegian policy on EU affairs. This is an important point. The European Economic Area provides the framework offering Norwegian business and industry a level playing field within the single market. But more than that, the EEA cooperation is a multi-faceted economic and political structure ensuring close cooperation with the EU on a number of issues. The EEA enjoys broad political support in my country. The Schengen-agreement makes Norway a party to the important European cooperation in the field of Justice and police.

A common European foreign and security policy is now high on the agenda. The Amsterdam and Cologne summits have laid the foundation for a new security identity. This development poses particular challenges to Norwegian interests. East and West have been reunited. Yet, new challenges have arisen. Conflict prevention and crisis management are central themes in the wake of the political changes. New tasks have been added to the agendas of the European Union, NATO, the OSCE and the United Nations. And new regional fora such as the Barents and Baltic Sea States Councils have become contributors to integration efforts.

More than any other body, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe has come to reflect the expanded security concept. Norway holds the presidency of the OSCE this year, a year which has seen violence and conflict on a massive scale unfolding on our continent. We have been reminded once again that peace and stability are not established once and for all, and that in Europe we are all neighbours with a common responsibility. The summit in Istanbul a week ago and the adoption of the European Security Charter were important steps forward.

The Kosovo crisis and ensuing war challenged European values and security. The tragedy provided a dramatic backdrop to the celebration of NATO's 50th anniversary this spring. Few of us could have anticipated that the alliance would take action outside member states territory in order to protect civilians from persecution. Once negotiations failed, few options remained. This does, of course not mean that conflict - any conflict - in present-day Europe can be solved by military means. The international community must remain committed to political and negotiated solutions. We have learned that lasting stability and economic development in the Balkans can only be achieved by integration into the European community of values. We must contribute to bringing together all the peoples of the region, isolating no one. The Stability Pact - which Germany has done so much to bring about - should serve as our common focal point as we work to achieve lasting peace in the Balkans.

Norway has always underlined the role NATO and the transatlantic relationship. We expect NATO to remain the central Western security and defence policy institution. Yet, we consider a European security and defence identity to be most valuable. In this context, too, it is reassuring for its neighbours that a strong Germany takes on a leading role in shaping the new Europe.

The Nordic countries, the United States and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe look to Germany as a key partner in building a stable continent. The German presidency of the EU made an important contribution in bringing the Kosovo crisis to an end. I welcome Germany's new and active role in international peace keeping.

As a NATO ally and an associated member of the Western European Union my country has made clear its desire to be included in the full range of EU consultations on a European security and defence policy. Norway will continue to be a substantial contributor to international conflict resolution, peace keeping missions and humanitarian assistance. Our input is political, financial and military. It must be based on full participation in the decision-shaping processes. This should be in the interest of all parties. The arrangements should be inclusive and transparent. We are actively pursuing our involvement in ESDP in close consultation with Germany and the other EU member states. At my meetings today with Chancellor Schröder and opposition leader Schäuble I was glad to note a clear German understanding and support for our position.

Crisis management is an area where the Nordic countries have particular experience. We would like to share lessons learned with Germany and explore opportunities for closer cooperation.

Both in Norway and in Germany we have grown wiser from the Kosovo crisis, and indeed from other recent conflicts. We must maximise our efforts to contain conflicts before they erupt in large-scale violence. Military solutions are the costliest in human suffering and resources. Conflict prevention must become our priority No. 1.

We, therefore, propose that Norway, and the other Nordic countries, and Germany, share experiences and discuss how we can work more effectively in this field. Together we possess expertise and resources that can make a real difference. We will now follow up this proposal which we hope will become a new and valuable addition to our relations.

Ladies and gentlemen,

A Leitmotif in my presentation has been the shared experience - the complex and closely knit web which binds Norway and Germany together as parts of European civilization. As we meet today, Norwegian gas continues to power German industry and homes. Thousands of Norwegians visit Germany and vice versa every day.

These are concrete and visible examples of our relationship. Underlying it, there is another dimension - maybe not so conspicuous - but still even more powerful. That is the community of values and ideas which we share.

Today there is a danger that we become too preoccupied with the economic and materialistic aspects of politics.

Stable, prosperous and dynamic societies, however, can only develop and look to the future with confidence, if they rest on basic and enduring values. As we search for the answers to the challenges modern society poses - to us in Norway, as to you in Germany - our common Christian, democratic and humanistic heritage continues to provide such a basis. Implementing these values in practical policies is the best way to uphold human rights and fundamental freedom and prevent and resolve conflicts.

Being here in Berlin, in the heart of Europe at the time of Advent, and at the dawn of a new Century, I have - possibly more than in any other place - felt the enduring importance of those common values.

Thank you! Vielen Dank!